Numbers 11:1-3

Numbers 11:1-3

[1] And when the people  complained,  it displeased  the LORD:  heard  it; and his anger  was kindled;  and the fire  of the LORD  burnt  among them, and consumed  them that were in the uttermost parts  of the camp.  [2] And the people  cried  unto Moses;  prayed  unto the LORD,  the fire  was quenched.  [3] And he called  the name  of the  place  Taberah:  because the fire  of the LORD  burnt  among them.

What does Numbers 11:1-3 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Archaeologists have not determined the location of Taberah ( Numbers 11:3). It must have been an insignificant spot geographically since Moses did not include it in the list of Israel"s encampments in chapter33 (cf. Numbers 33:16-17). It was a significant spot spiritually, however. Not long after Israel left Sinai the people began to grumble again.
"A modern traveller [1] would sympathize." [2]
"There is a cyclical nature to Israel"s rebellions against God; obdurate people tend to repeat the sins of the past. The first rebellion of the redeemed people came on the third day of marching toward the Mount of God after their miraculous crossing of the Sea of Reeds ( Exodus 15:22-24). Now, three days out on their triumphal march to Canaan from Mount Sinai, they fall back into their complaining behavior. The pattern of "three days" in both cases shows both similarity of actions as well as an intemperate, impatient attitude on the part of the people." [3]
To warn them that their dissatisfaction could develop into more serious rebellion God sent fire on the outskirts of the camp. It is not clear whether the fire (lightning?) that God sent killed some of the people or only burned up things such as bushes and tents. Evidently the people recognized this event as a warning from God and cried out to Moses whose intercession moved God to withhold further discipline. The people named the site Taberah (burning) in memory of this event.
"In the midst of his wrath, the Lord remembers mercy. This is one of the ongoing themes of Scripture and is a particular truism in the Book of Numbers." [4]
This is the third time in the Pentateuch that an event such as this happened. God had wrestled with Jacob after Jacob had parted from his father-in-law and before he reentered the Promised Land ( Genesis 31:55; Genesis 32:22-32). God had sought to kill Moses after Moses had left Sinai and had parted from his father-in-law and before he rejoined the Israelites ( Exodus 4:24-26). Now God sent fire from heaven to the Israelites after they had left Sinai and Moses" father-in-law, and before they entered the Promised Land. Each incident casts a foreboding mood over events and hints that something worse may follow soon. Remember the fire from heaven on Sodom in Genesis 19.